Tuesday, 25 April 2017
Monday, 24 April 2017
Tuesday, 18 April 2017
Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our opening does challenge the conventions of horror.
The title
The title of our film depicts the horror conventions as it is an open title which creates a sense of the unknown. This allows the audience to use their imagination to decide what events they think are going to occur.
We have decided to title our film 'Goodbye' as it is foreshadowing that the word goodbye may be a big feature in our film as it connotes an end or finality. Goodbye is not a sinister word but in the context of a horror goodbye can mean anything and creates a juxtaposition between the normality of the word “goodbye” against its horror setting, therefore creating a sense of unease from the outset of the film. A similar film that uses this technique is ‘goodnight mommy’ by using such a title they let the audience infer that it’s about a mother and her child/children but that’s as much as they can figure out from this sort of title, once again highlighting the effective use of juxtaposition within the horror genre.
The setting and location
The location of our film does not necessarily challenge horror conventions, as it is set in a high school playing field, however the initial time of setting is not conventional. We start our film in daylight which creates a juxtaposition luring the audience to think that it is safe. We chose to use a field with trees and other vegetation, this conforms to the conventions of horror. However, by using a tent, it does not conform.
The costumes and props
The three main characters in our film wore the average clothes of a teenage girl in the modern day, this is something that features in many different horror films for example scream and nightmare on Elm Street. Dressing the three girls in average teen clothes creates that sense of innocence and vulnerability. In our film we used a Ouija board, this is a well-known prop in the supernatural genre. Ouija boards are associated with the devil and evil spirits which once again foreshadows what is to come. Which is conventional because during supernatural horror people conjure evil spirits which then come back to haunt them. Which creates large amounts of jump scares throughout the film.
How the opening suggests the story
Our final media piece is a very stereotypical supernatural horror, it features most of the conventions of a supernatural horror and a lot of foreshadowing. A film that is similar o our opening is the film Ouija, this film is also about a group of girls who use a Ouija board however they use it in the safety of their own home, not in the middle of nowhere. If we were to have filmed the entirety of our film the audience would have seen plot twists and possibly death, both of these features are very stereotypical of a supernatural horror. Many directors use plot twists to confuse the audience and to keep them wanting more. M. Night Shyamalan is a director who is best known for his contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. The fact that we focus on the word goodbye shows that the supernatural element is not concluded yet.
Camerawork and editing
At the very beginning of our opening we pan the camera across the Ouija board and with editing we made it flicker, fizzle out and quickly cut to a different shot of the Ouija board. Things like this keep the audience on their toes because it indicates what is to come. We had to film this piece in the day time and with editing we had to make it look like it was night time so that it fitted with the supernatural horror conventions. The overhead shot of the girls’ fingers moving the planchette on the Ouija board is very effective, there is a very similar shot in the film Ouija. This is effective because it creates that sense of intimacy and closeness. There is a scene near the end of our opening where a shadowy figure walks past the tent while the girls are sleeping this complies with the horror genre as shadows are often used to show the antagonist when the antagonist is not yet known. Based upon Barthes enigma code the narrative will be driven by the audiences want to discover the identity of the unknown antagonist. At the very end of our opening we pan across the word goodbye to show that this is the title of our film but also because it creates implies that something is about to happen. We continuously pan across the word goodbye to encourage the same sense of unease.
How the genre is introduced
Our supernatural genre is introduced straight away with the use of the music and the Ouija board. The music we use is called Grisly Reminder - Midnight Syndicate, this is a very eerie piece of music.
Title font and style
The title font in our film is enticing and different as it fades from thick to thin as if it’s fading away into nothing. We wanted a font that was simple but still eye catching. A film that also uses a simple font is the conjuring. By using such a simple font it creates the effect of innocence and child likeness.
Our opening does challenge the conventions of horror.
The title
The title of our film depicts the horror conventions as it is an open title which creates a sense of the unknown. This allows the audience to use their imagination to decide what events they think are going to occur.
We have decided to title our film 'Goodbye' as it is foreshadowing that the word goodbye may be a big feature in our film as it connotes an end or finality. Goodbye is not a sinister word but in the context of a horror goodbye can mean anything and creates a juxtaposition between the normality of the word “goodbye” against its horror setting, therefore creating a sense of unease from the outset of the film. A similar film that uses this technique is ‘goodnight mommy’ by using such a title they let the audience infer that it’s about a mother and her child/children but that’s as much as they can figure out from this sort of title, once again highlighting the effective use of juxtaposition within the horror genre.
The setting and location
The location of our film does not necessarily challenge horror conventions, as it is set in a high school playing field, however the initial time of setting is not conventional. We start our film in daylight which creates a juxtaposition luring the audience to think that it is safe. We chose to use a field with trees and other vegetation, this conforms to the conventions of horror. However, by using a tent, it does not conform.
The costumes and props
The three main characters in our film wore the average clothes of a teenage girl in the modern day, this is something that features in many different horror films for example scream and nightmare on Elm Street. Dressing the three girls in average teen clothes creates that sense of innocence and vulnerability. In our film we used a Ouija board, this is a well-known prop in the supernatural genre. Ouija boards are associated with the devil and evil spirits which once again foreshadows what is to come. Which is conventional because during supernatural horror people conjure evil spirits which then come back to haunt them. Which creates large amounts of jump scares throughout the film.
How the opening suggests the story
Our final media piece is a very stereotypical supernatural horror, it features most of the conventions of a supernatural horror and a lot of foreshadowing. A film that is similar o our opening is the film Ouija, this film is also about a group of girls who use a Ouija board however they use it in the safety of their own home, not in the middle of nowhere. If we were to have filmed the entirety of our film the audience would have seen plot twists and possibly death, both of these features are very stereotypical of a supernatural horror. Many directors use plot twists to confuse the audience and to keep them wanting more. M. Night Shyamalan is a director who is best known for his contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. The fact that we focus on the word goodbye shows that the supernatural element is not concluded yet.
Camerawork and editing
At the very beginning of our opening we pan the camera across the Ouija board and with editing we made it flicker, fizzle out and quickly cut to a different shot of the Ouija board. Things like this keep the audience on their toes because it indicates what is to come. We had to film this piece in the day time and with editing we had to make it look like it was night time so that it fitted with the supernatural horror conventions. The overhead shot of the girls’ fingers moving the planchette on the Ouija board is very effective, there is a very similar shot in the film Ouija. This is effective because it creates that sense of intimacy and closeness. There is a scene near the end of our opening where a shadowy figure walks past the tent while the girls are sleeping this complies with the horror genre as shadows are often used to show the antagonist when the antagonist is not yet known. Based upon Barthes enigma code the narrative will be driven by the audiences want to discover the identity of the unknown antagonist. At the very end of our opening we pan across the word goodbye to show that this is the title of our film but also because it creates implies that something is about to happen. We continuously pan across the word goodbye to encourage the same sense of unease.
How the genre is introduced
Our supernatural genre is introduced straight away with the use of the music and the Ouija board. The music we use is called Grisly Reminder - Midnight Syndicate, this is a very eerie piece of music.
Title font and style
The title font in our film is enticing and different as it fades from thick to thin as if it’s fading away into nothing. We wanted a font that was simple but still eye catching. A film that also uses a simple font is the conjuring. By using such a simple font it creates the effect of innocence and child likeness.
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
Evaluation Question 3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A small scale media institution would distribute our film due to the lack of knowledge we have and the lack of funding and money. Our film would not include special effects because we are not of large scale and large scale movies typically use many different effects to enhance their films. Without the large budget we will not be able to use better devices that will make our film look better.
Who should distribute our film 'Goodbye'?
A medium scale company, for example, Studio Canal. They release films from the UK and Ireland. If Studio Canal was to release our film, it would become recognised rather quickly. They also release many American films, this will encourage many more people across the world. Studio Canal is known for making 'Johnny English Reborn', 'We Are Your Friends' and 'Macbeth'. Johnny English Reborn had a budget of $45,000,000. Studio Canal own a lot of films across many genres.
A small scale media institution would distribute our film due to the lack of knowledge we have and the lack of funding and money. Our film would not include special effects because we are not of large scale and large scale movies typically use many different effects to enhance their films. Without the large budget we will not be able to use better devices that will make our film look better.
Who should distribute our film 'Goodbye'?
A medium scale company, for example, Studio Canal. They release films from the UK and Ireland. If Studio Canal was to release our film, it would become recognised rather quickly. They also release many American films, this will encourage many more people across the world. Studio Canal is known for making 'Johnny English Reborn', 'We Are Your Friends' and 'Macbeth'. Johnny English Reborn had a budget of $45,000,000. Studio Canal own a lot of films across many genres.
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